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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 1972)
| Commentary On the right. . . William F, Buckley Jr. McGovern pulls a tricky move Tricky George! That was quite a performance Senator McGovern gave, on announcing his choice of Sargent Shriver as Vice-Presidential candidate. For one thing, the networks had been reluctant to cut into the prime's! time unless they had his assurance that he would give hard news. Well, they finally got that assurance from him Then what did he do? Make the announcement about Sargent Shriver, and extol Shriver’s qualifications for office? The question is best answered mathematically. If you stretch Senator McGovern’s speech down in column inches, you get a total text of just over 57 inches. Of these 57 inches, he devoted exactly two to Sargent Shriver. Now to be absolutely fair to Senator McGovern, it is just possible that he didn’t have more than two inches’ worth of information about Sargent Shriver. That happens to all of us everynow and then you know, you are suddenly conscripted at the last minute to introduce John Jones at the banquet or at the bridal dinner, and all you know about him is that he is the brother-in-law of the mayor, but of course you don’t want to use that, because it’s John’s night, and he shouldn’t be wired for radiance to another generator than his own. So you manage to extrude three or four sentences out of the old resourceful tube and quickly get on to other matters. But he did have time to deliver a practically endless speech. The networks were stuck with it, because they could hardly, in all decorum, cut off the broadcast after the brief mention of Sargent Shriver’s name. Unquestionably what happened is this. The speech writer was told—“Put together a great big campaign speech We’re going to get a free crack at a few dozen million people. We may as well get all the mileage we can out of it. Leave a little hole in the first section, and when we come up with somebody willing to run for Vice President, stick in his name and get something out of Who’s Who, assuming he’s in Who’s Who, to describe him. Be sure to say he is very distinguished, that he is capable of serving if need be as President of the United States, and that we are very enthusiastic about him.” But the rest of the speech was of much more than routine interest, as it happened. Almost all of it could have been delivered by Richard Nixon. As a matter of fact, almost all of it could have been delivered by Her bert Hoover. I kid you not: George McGovern has emerged as the anti-inflation candidate! It is a little as if Senator Joe McCarthy had decided to campaign on the need to abolish the Committee on Un-American Ac tivities. Listen: “You elected a President who promised . . to halt inflation (but didn’t).” An interesting question which somebody ought to ask Senator McGovern at his next press conference: “Kindly point to one spending bill passed during the Nixon Administration which you spoke against and voted against on the grounds that it’s inflationary.” And more. “You need no economist to tell you what happens to a week’s wages at the supermarket check-out counter, or to the savings of a lifetime when illness strikes.” That sentence is several times extraordinary. On the one hand he is attempting to preempt the concern for inflation away from the Republican Party, which miserably though it has recently performed, is never theless one hundred times more inflation conscious than the Democrats. Second, he makes no reference to the fact that a Democratically-controlled Congress has passed all the legislation that has resulted in the deficit and in turn in the inflation. And third, without even pausing to begin a new sentence, he tacitly endorses the colossal medical health bill which would instantly add to the inflation. Indeed, among the best friends of George McGovern, among those who love and trust him most, I don’t think there is one who has discovered less than a forty billion dollar discrepancy between McGovern’s projected outlays, and McGovern’s projected receipts, and that means: inflation. McGovern for Chutzpah. Nicholas Von Hoffman George Wallace: Wait til ‘76 I.Ol'ISVIl.I.K (KFS) — “<iod Is Not Dead And Neither Is Wallace! Wait ’til 76," declared one sign that popped up after the American Party Convention heard the Alabama governor tell it, ‘‘My stomach is open in two places which are still draining from the infection.” The governor was talking by phone from his hospital bed and his word that he would not be running for l*resident was final. Many of the l,500^plus delegates wept; others pointed the microphones of their inexpensive tape recorders at the loud speakers to catch their leader’s words words which they could cherish but not change. The American Party would now have to attempt to carry on without the man who made it, and who gave it its meaning and its appeal It is still primarily a party of plebian WASIN that didn't make it into the ruling class Such people have a heritage of know nothingism to fight off, and many of them art* trying There was serious talk here of nominating Clay Smothers, an ultra conservative black man, as Vice President And wouldn’t that have been a lip smacker if they had? "I’d like to see Clay Smothers on our ticket We do have racists and bigots in the Party and this would drive them out,” remarked Charlie Burke, an blast Hartford (Conn ) barber (Charlie’s remark shows he’s learning to become an effective politician. “Four years ago when I opened our Wallace headquarters I lost half my business,” he said “I didn’t know how to talk to people. Now I’m starting to be a little more diplomatic. I’m not a polished politician yet. I’m still a workingman.” Even John G. Schmitz, the California Congressman who is the Party’s Presidential nominee, has backed off his right-to-work stand There were too many loyal trade unionists here. Not that this party is made up only of blue-collar people: You could find many women delegates, a smattering of lawyers, even a few doctors, and a number of engineers and very small entrepreneurs. What you got none of was bureaucrats or corporate executives The same desire to reach out, make contact and be understood was reflected in the delegates’ treatment of the media. Although complaining—with considerable justice from the podium and off it about how they’ve been shot down and ridiculed by the press, they were unfailingly polite, friendly and helpful Don’t you believe this is just an angry lynch mob. It isn’t. Whether the frail American Party can survive its candidate, Schmitz, is another matter. If he would have taken it, and the Jo si tWnk loJifS. nou you con fi^it pollution u*th this new b«o dr^o<VJd<‘ Soap i.diilr you do "your okm Mwvj - the wash! 1 delegates would have forgiven his playing footsy with Nixon, James Buckley, the conservative senator from New York, would have been a far better choice. Buckley knows how to talk to a wide band spectrum of Americans, and sound serious and plausible. Schmitz doesn’t. Not only is he addicted to wise-ass one-liners, but he carries the usual disabilities of a John Bircher sectarian: obscurantism, negativism, and a monorail-like logical consistency which is insupportable in the conduct of human affairs. There is also the Birchite predilection for startling language. Thus Gary Allen. Schmitz’ political theoretician, told the press that, ‘‘Communism is not run out of Moscow or Peking; it’s run out of New York by guys who live in penthouses . . Communism is not a conspiracy of the downtrodden, but a conspiracy by billionaires.” Now, while it is true that in politics a conspiracy is an agreement by two or more people to do something you don’t like, this kind of talk will only end up by getting Nixon votes. There is more than a kernel of truth in what he says, but the way he says it is too far out, and too cloudy. It doesn’t adequately address itself to our massive sense of betrayal, which Allen did speak to when he said, “In ’68 Richard Nixon ran on George Wallace’s platform, and then carried out Hubert Humphrey’s.” Birchite or not, that’s a remark everybody will vote for. Housing office offers advice Students have often been hassled when trying to recover security and damage deposits. The ASUO Housing Office has written this to tell you what your rights as a tenant are. If you have a specific problem you should talk to an attorney. The ASUO Legal Services offers free legal help to all University students. If you are not a student, see Legal Aid. The law says you are generally required to return a dwelling in the same condition it was in when you took possession, minus normal wear and tear; he should pay, not you Likewise, if furnishings or appliances wear out. In addition, you are not required to pay for damage left by prior tenants. If you have a lease or rental agreement, read it carefully. It may indicate the condition the landlord expects the dwelling to be in when you leave. If the agreement requires you to leave the place spotless, that is how it will have to be. Sometimes, least' agreements are not enforceable if they are very complex, one sided, and unreasonable But that is awfully hard to establish The law generally assumes that you read your agreement, and understood it before you signed it Some landlords routinely wait two or three months before returning a deposit. That is too long You should be able to get a refund and an itemized statement of any deductions within a few weeks after you leave, and all repairs and cleaning have been taken care of Some landlords are even willing to make out a check when you hand in vour keys, but its not too common If the landlord does not act promptly, or makes deductions that are exorbitant or unwarranted, you can sue him in the Small Claims Court TO PROTECT YOURSELF it) When moving in, take an inventory Make a note of everything present, and its condition. The ASUO Housing Office has inventory and condition reports for you to use. Make a copy of the inventory for yourself and for the landlord. Ask him to sign your copy. Hang on to it, you’ll ne^^ if you go to Small Claims Court. (2) Keep proof that your deposit was paid A cancelled check or a receipt are good. If the lease acknowledges payment, that's fine, if signed by the landlord. If you pay by check write “for damage deposit’’ on it. (3) When you move out inspect the dwelling with the landlord. If you have an “impartial friend,” ask him to come too. Write down anything the landlord says about the condition of the place and when he will return the deposit. Do any reasonable work he wants done SMALL CLAIMS COURT Suing your landlord in Small Claims Court is frequently the easiest way to recover a deposit. Small Claims is in formal. costs are relatively small and cases are generally decided without at torneys and within a relatively short time. To file in Small Claims Court, see the District Court Clerk on the fourth floor of the Lane County Courthouse, 125 E. Eighth Ave. Although lawyers are not usually allowed in court, you can and should see one before trial Make an appointment to see Legal Services if you are a student If not a student, contact Legal Aid W'ith a good case and adaquate preparation you should be able to recover your deposit. You can ask for reimbursement for your court fees and interest on the money your land lord has held too’ If you have any problems or questions about housing, stop by the ASUO Housing office 312 EMU or call 686-3731
